Venezuelan Economic Growth Slowed More Than Forecast to 0.7%

Venezuela’s economy grew less than economists forecast in the first quarter as fewer government dollar sales to importers resulted in the worst currency shortages since 2008.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.7 percent from a year earlier, the slowest pace since the last three months of 2010, the central bank said in a statement published on its website. The median forecast of eight analysts in a Bloomberg survey was for growth of 1.1 percent. GDP had expanded 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter and 5.6 percent in 2012.